crawl

¹ American  

[krawl] / krɔl /

verb (used without object)

1. to move in a prone position with the body resting on or close to the ground, as a worm or caterpillar, or on the hands and knees, as a young child.

2. (of plants or vines) to extend tendrils; creep.

3. to move or progress slowly or laboriously.

   The line of cars crawled behind the slow-moving truck.

   The work just crawled until we got the new machines.

4. to behave in a remorseful, abject, or cringing manner.

   Don't come crawling back to me asking for favors.

5. to be, or feel as if, overrun with crawling things.

   The hut crawled with lizards and insects.

6. Ceramics.  (of a glaze) to spread unevenly over the surface of a piece.

7. (of paint) to raise or contract because of an imperfect bond with the underlying surface.

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verb (used with object)

1. to visit or frequent a series of (similar businesses, especially bars).

   to crawl the neighborhood pubs.

2. Digital Technology.  to digitally survey (websites) using a computer program, as in order to index web pages for a search engine.

   Search engines are constantly crawling the web.

noun

1. the act of crawling; a slow, crawling motion.

2. the visiting of a series of similar businesses, especially bars.

   a beer crawl;

   a museum crawl.

3. a slow pace or rate of progress.

   Traffic slowed to a crawl.

4. Swimming.  a stroke in a prone position, characterized by alternate overarm movements combined with the flutter kick.

5. Television, Movies.  titles that slowly move across a screen, providing information.

crawl ² American  

[krawl] / krɔl /

noun

Chiefly South Atlantic States.

1. an enclosure in shallow water on the seacoast, as for confining fish, turtles, etc..

   a crab crawl.

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crawl ¹ British  

/ krɔːl /

verb

1. to move slowly, either by dragging the body along the ground or on the hands and knees

2. to proceed or move along very slowly or laboriously

   the traffic crawled along the road

3. to act or behave in a servile manner; fawn; cringe

4. to be or feel as if overrun by something unpleasant, esp crawling creatures

   the pile of refuse crawled with insects

5. (of insects, worms, snakes, etc) to move with the body close to the ground

6. to swim the crawl

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noun

1. a slow creeping pace or motion

2. Also called: Australian crawl.   front crawl.  swimming a stroke in which the feet are kicked like paddles while the arms reach forward and pull back through the water

crawl ² British  

/ krɔːl /

noun

1. an enclosure in shallow, coastal water for fish, lobsters, etc

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Usage

What does crawl mean? To crawl is to move along, close to the ground, either by wriggling the body or using hands and knees, as in The baby crawled along the floor on her hands and knees.Many types of animals crawl along the ground, such as worms, caterpillars, and snakesTo crawl also means to creep or to extend tendrils, like a vine up a ladder.More generally, to crawl means to move slowly or with a lot of effort, as in School was so boring today that the time just crawled along.To crawl also means to visit a series of similar businesses, most commonly bars or pubs. A pub crawl is an event during which participants will visit several pubs, one after another.Example: The traffic slowed to a crawl on my way home from work because of an accident.

Related Words

Crawl, creep refer to methods of moving like reptiles or worms, or on all fours. They are frequently interchangeable, but crawl is used of a more prostrate movement than creep : A dog afraid of punishment crawls toward his master. Creep expresses slow progress: A child creeps before walking or running.

Other Word Forms

• crawlingly adverb

Etymology

Origin of crawl¹

First recorded in 1150–1200; Middle English craulen, crallen, from Old Norse krafla; compare Danish kravle “to crawl, creep”

Origin of crawl²

First recorded in 1650–60; from Dutch kraal, from Spanish corral corral; kraal

Example Sentences

In April, Johnson saw that bricks around his home’s crawl space were torn out, and the wooden frame covering the crawl space was broken.

From Los Angeles Times

They’ve been doing covert “crawls” with the goal of locating and destroying Vecna before he turns the town, then the world, into an oozy wasteland.

From Los Angeles Times

Every year, sea turtles emerge from nests on Florida's beaches and begin the difficult crawl from the sand to the sea -- a journey that plays a major role in whether they survive.

From Science Daily

“Those corridors fill up with smoke, so now you’re having to do a fireman crawl along the floor for potentially hundreds of feet,” he said.

From Los Angeles Times

Last week, I stood on a Chicago street corner in a blinding snowstorm and watched a homeless man crawl inside a big wooden box on wheels.

From Salon

Related Words

• clamber
• creep
• drag
• inch
• plod
• poke
• slide
• slither
• squirm
• wriggle